An elderly African-American man asked forgiveness as he interrupted my subway Torah study.

“Is it true that Hebrew reads from right to left?”  he said with a smile.

“That’s right,” I said, showing the direction of the script.

“I study the Torah regularly,” he said, still smiling.  “And I love the Jewish people.”

“Really?” I asked, sensing his desire to share.

“Sure.  Ever since I was a boy on the Lower East Side, I loved the Jewish people.   My mama needed help to feed us kids.  The rabbi used to put something in her hand to help her.  He made sure we had what to eat.”  He was beaming.

The train came and we said farewell.  I was touched by his warmth and sincerity and it lingered as I took the train uptown and considered the lessons to draw from the exchange.

1) It’s pleasurable to acknowledge the good that’s been done to us.  Did he really want to verify the direction of Hebrew script?  I don’t think so.   He was on a mission: he wanted to express the good feeling in his heart to a representative of the doer of  great good to his family; he needed a pretext to do so. His pleasure was palpable.

2) It’s really nice to be on the receiving end.  Of course, I didn’t do anything to merit it.  But his praise was broad and generous: I acknowledge you for being someone who publicly identifies yourself with the Jewish people.

May we merit to be party to much praise.

Shabbat Shalom,

Henry Harris

PS : Celebrate the 2nd night of Chanukah with us! http://www.aishcenter.com/soho-lights-chanukah

Check out Colbert vs. Carell on “Whose G-d is Greater!?” http://www.aishcenter.com/make-the-case

Our Sages debate the merits of fire and red hot metal or coal as a heat source.

The coal is hotter. Any (slightly pyro) kid will tell you that you can pass your fingers, even not so quickly, through a flame and not be hurt. Don’t try that with red hot metal.

Yet the flame has an advantage: its heat is independent; it’s not reliant on outside sources. Our goal is to be like the flame. But how?

Recently I got up early to drive to an annual Aish rabbis meeting in Connecticut. I planned accordingly, I thought, to arrive on time for the morning minyan.

Traffic.  Delays.  Thoughts: This isn’t good; if you don’t make it on time, it’s a bad start; if you don’t make it, you’re not fully committed, inspired, etc.

Then it occurred to me.  I am committed and inspired and serious not because I have a result in hand, but because I know: G-d desires my prayers.

I felt myself switch from recrimination to yearning: G-d, clear the traffic, don’t let me get lost, get me there on time because I want to make a beautiful prayer.  I am not waiting for things to cause my inspiration.  I turn inward and acknowledge: I have a purpose here; my effort is desired from above; what’s my next choice?  Choose it.

May we merit to pursue great results in this world not as external evidence of life’s goodness, but as commitments to honor a powerful inner flame.  PS – I made the minyan.

Shabbat Shalom,

Henry Harris

PPS – Great video clip: Join R. Jacobs and I for a day of spiritual and intellectual DISCOVERY, Sunday, Dec. 25: http://www.aishcenter.com/make-the-case

Jacob suspected funny business under the chupa.  So he created a secret code for Rachel to identify herself from under her veil.  But when Rachel foresaw Leah’s utter humiliation at being discovered, she couldn’t withhold it and so Leah, not Rachel, became Jacob’s wife.  Mind you, Rachel didn’t know there would be a second wedding – she thought she was giving up (not just sharing) her marriage forever.

How does one find the strength to do such a thing?  The answer, I believe, is profound trust in the immutable, Divine quality of Halacha, or Jewish law.

Jewish law as it relates to this story teaches that humiliation is akin to murder: just as I can’t murder a rival to a marriage partner, I can’t humiliate that rival.  Once Rachel saw that the path to marriage would require leaving the bounds of Jewish law, she saw that it was a “no go” zone.  Hence the deeper meaning of Halacha – literally “the way, or path.”

The power of a path is that in helping us clarify what to say “no” to, it simultaneously allows us to say “yes” in a focused and passionate way.

I am still astonished by how quickly candy-loving kids drop a candy at grocery store when informed it’s not kosher.  It’s just not on the “path.”

May we merit to cultivate a profound appreciation for The Way and thereby find strength to say powerful “no’s” and “yes’s” on our journey.

Shabbat Shalom,

Henry Harris

PS – Thanks to all who joined in making our 2011 gala a great success this past Wednesday!

PPS – Save the Date: Sun. Dec. 25 – The Discovery Program at Aish!

Now that we have a yard, we have to do things like raking leaves.  My wife hired my sons (ages 10, 8, and 6) last Sunday: $1 per kid per bag.  They were thrilled at their new found earning capacity.  I was a little wary.

The session began well enough: the four of us gathered and deposited leaves.  We took turns compacting them.   They excitedly planned how they’d spend their wages.  Soon, though, the temptations of other pursuits called.

There was the next door neighbor’s basketball hoop, the broken branches that made nice whips, the interesting rock, and pretty much anything else other than the leaves.

I made various displeased announcements about their job performance and its potential impact on their wages.  But it was hard for them.  After an hour, the job was done.

“Let’s see,” said my oldest, “seven bags times…That’s $21!” he calculated excitedly.

“Really?” I countered.  ”Were each of you involved in every bag?”

“Well, not every bag,” he conceded.  ”But most!”

“By my count, you did five, and the others three at most.”

“What!? That’s so little!  For all that we did?!”

I raised the issue with my wife.

“I understand,” she said.  ”You want them to walk around feeling, ‘Mommy and Tatty do so much for us; what can we do to say thank you?’”

“Yes,” I said.

“We can and should work at that.  But we also have to ask ourselves whether we are vibrating that message,” she offered. “Are we walking around saying, “Hashem, you do so much for us; what can we do for You?’”

Touche.

May we merit to express and thereby inspire much gratitude – both to the Source of all and to His many messengers.

Shabbat Shalom,

Henry Harris

PS: Check out the Aish Gala Silent/Live auction – Online NOW

In my various interactions with atheists I am often informed that there  is “no evidence” for the existence of a God (or gods as they like to  add.)  This tact is difficult to process in as much as great  philosophers, theologians and even scientists through countless ages have  cogently presented this evidence.  The non-believer imagines that such  evidence, if indeed it did exist, has been thoroughly refuted and  therefore anyone who continues to take it seriously is either stupid,  ignorant or evil.  It does not, as a rule, enter the consciousness of the  non-believer that whatever counter-arguments exist, that they remain  just that – arguments and not knock-out blows against the original ideas.   The upshot is that the many compelling (and reasonable) arguments that  have been presented over the millennia exist quite intact and unharmed by  opposing notions.  For those who are unfamiliar with them, or who that  might appreciate a refresher course, I propose to outline 54 of them for  your independent evaluation.  This first piece will attempt to  colloquially explain what is known as the “Cosmological Argument.”

The Cosmological Argument is one of the oldest and most intuitive  arguments in favor of the existence of God.  It has been treated by the  likes of Plato, Aristotle, Maimonides, Thomas Aquinas and as well as by  Eastern and African thinkers. The basic form of the argument goes like  this: everything we see in our world is contingent (it has a cause),  there cannot be an endless series of causes (an infinite regress), and  therefore there must be a primordial cause that is the cause of all  causes. Aristotle referred to this cause as the “Unmoved Mover”  and Western tradition refers to this original cause as God.

Read the whole thing here.

As a football fan growing up, though I don’t watch much now and have pretenses to having matured, I still find myself caught up in some of the sport’s drama.  Take Tim Tebow, the celebrated college quarterback widely thought to be unfit to play professionally.

The guy is missing a bunch of core skills associated with success in the NFL.  What he does have is tremendous will: no matter how many mistakes he’s made, he’s committed.  He knows that his actions can always bring victory whether they look pretty or not.  When the going gets tough, he locks in and it’s “Tebow Time.”

As my commitment to compose my weekly spark ran into my desire to read about his heroics Thursday night, I asked myself, Why are you so drawn to his story?  It’s just football.

The insight that came was: deep, deep down, we all want to live a life of commitment and consequence:  There is a huge victory riding on me.  I mustn’t give up.  No matter how many mistakes I’ve made and no matter how high the odds and no matter how awkward my efforts might look, my actions matter and I won’t stop.

Sometimes, though, it’s easier to watch Tim Tebow than to admit that such a life awaits me, too.

So I “ex’ed” out ESPN, asked G-d for insight, and sat down to write this Spark.

Shabbat Shalom,

Henry Harris

PS: Please join us at

1) Our Annual Gala Wed. Nov. 30 at the Mandarin Oriental (student tix avail.)

2) My Monday night class at 7:15pm prompt (this week: Your Dynamic Duo: You & Your Evil Twin)

3) New Clarity offerings from Tzipora

This is the week that Avraham goes to bat for the not so nice people of Sodom and Gemorah.

“What if there are 50 righteous people in the midst of the city,” asks Avraham.  ”Would you still wipe it out…Shall the judge of all the earth not do justice?”

Avraham is relentless in arguing the region’s merits till he succeeds in preventing execution if only 10 good guys are present.  His case exhausted, he stops and G-d, so to speak, departs.

“Once the advocate became quiet,” Rashi explains, “the Judge departed.”

The inference is noteworthy: all the while that Avraham advocates, the Judge is close by.  We, too: when we make ourselves advocates for our fellow, it’s very difficult for G-d not to be nearby.

I wondered where I see this principle in my own experience and I thought of bedtime.  It’s not easy for kids to let go of their day and retire: there are usually many appeals for a “stay of execution” – “just five more minutes,” “I need the bathroom again…”

On occasion one of my sons will call me in to the room.  I sense my impatience rising.  I want to move on with my night.

“Let me tell you what I like about Moshie and Avraham [his siblings].”  At that moment, it’s quite easy to linger.

We all have cases we are advocating for; may we merit to broaden the advocacy and thereby enter in to a whole new court proceeding.

Shabbat Shalom,

Henry Harris

PS: Join us at the Aish Center Gala,Wed. Nov. 30, at the Mandarin Oriental! http://aishgala2011.charityhappenings.org/  and me this Monday, 7:15pm: Lucky Coins, Not Stepping on Cracks, & Other Tools for Success.

How can I grow to be a more effective person?
How can I live a more meaningful, happy and fulfilling life?

The great texts of Judaism’s ethical tradition have wrestled with and provided the answers to these foundational questions for thousands of years. But in an age of tweets and sound bites, how can we quickly grasp the basic elements of growth and the profound, action-oriented wisdom found in the writings of our forefathers?

The 128 razor-sharp directives found here deliver invaluable insights that reduce and encapsulate the ancient Jewish wisdom about what it takes to become a better person. These teachings are for those who want to better understand the bedrock Jewish concepts of personal growth, and they are for anyone who wants to become a calmer, more thoughtful person of integrity in today’s complex and rapidly changing world.

40 pages

Amount of Books

1 Book $10.95 USD 2 Books $21.90 USD 3 Books $32.85 USD 4 Books $43.80 USD 5 Books $49.75 USD 6 Books $59.70 USD 7 Books $69.65 USD 8 Books $79.60 USD 9 Books $89.55 USD

To purchase 10 or more books, please contact Rabbi Adam Jacobs at ajacobs@aish.com.

…or Click to Buy Amazon Kindle version

Try as I might, I continue to be startled by the mindset of the non-believer. It’s not so much that I can’t grasp the notion that someone could believe that there is no Creator and that there is no grand design to the universe, but rather that so many of their choices and thinking patterns seem to suggest that they believe something quite unlike that which they profess.  Often, I’ve inquired of non-believers if it at all vexes them that nothing that they have ever done or will ever do will make the slightest difference to anyone on any level? After all, one random grouping of molecules interacting with another has no inherent meaning or value. I still await the brave soul (or neuron complex if you prefer) who will respond that I am quite correct; that no thought, deed, action or impulse is any more significant or meaningful than any other, that statements like “I would like to enslave all of humanity” and “I would like a chocolate bar” are functionally equivalent, and that their very own thoughts and words are intrinsically suspect as they are nothing more than some indiscriminate electro-chemical impulses. Until then, I will carry on believing that most “non-believers” actually believe a bit more than they generally let on, or are willing to admit to themselves. That, or that they have contented themselves to willfully act out fantasies that bear no relation to their purported worldview.

Let’s put this assumption to a test. How would you answer the following series of questions? I posit that if you are inclined to answer any of them from a non-materialist perspective then you might secretly suspect that there are grander cosmic forces at work than those discernible on a purely empiric level, or, possibly, that you are a victim of societal programming.

1. Would you be willing to sell your parent’s remains for dog food?

If you answered no, why? As there are finite resources available to us as we plod through our limited number of revolutions on this planet, wouldn’t it be in your interest to maximize them — especially considering that a non-functional carcass provides little to no personal or societal benefit (and is a little unpleasant)? If you suggest that it represents something that was important to you and therefore you are inclined to treat it with more respect I would ask, “so what?” Your notions of respect and importance are subjective, non-intellectual whims that in any case (as we’ve said) are in reality nothing more than tiny electrical blips in your skull and worth far less than cash.

Could it be that subconsciously you suspect that it’s just wrong to do it — wrong in a way that transcends your temporality? If not, and if you would sell your mother’s corpse so that it can be made into pet grub, congratulations: You are an authentic non-believer.

Read the whole thing here

G-d commands Avraham this week to leave his home and go on a great journey.  To reassure him regarding the effects of such a trip, G-d promises to bless him with abundance in family, wealth, and accomplishment.

What happens?  He arrives in Israel and is met with serious famine.  To save his family’s life, he must flee to Egypt where his wife is abducted and made prisoner to Pharoah.

Huh?  G-d, did we not make a deal?  I go on the journey and You bless me.  I did my part.  Not only did You not bless me, You endangered my family and myself multiple times!

Avraham understands something that is profound yet attainable (and, of course, easier said than done).  G-d designed the world such that blessings are only attained through creating a vessel for them.  How do we create a vessel?  G-d sets us up with life scenarios that challenge us, that require us to trust the wisdom of His plan and embrace its effort as necessary self-transformation.  We change, and thereby become vessels.

I know a woman who became engaged to a man whose parents completely rejected her.  They attempted to break the engagement.  They opposed the wedding.  It was painful.

After a year she confided, “This was one of the best growth experiences of my life.”

“How?”

“Before, I never really had to discover the root of my own self-esteem.  Through her, G-d gave me no choice.  I feel so much stronger and happier.”

He’s not getting in our way; He’s guiding us on our way.

Shabbat Shalom,

Henry Harris

PS – My new weekly class, Mondays at 7:15, on the Torah portion.  This week: “Only weaklings don’t get tested.”